Slaps Me Back To Me - Judy and Barbra

Slapped Me Back to Me!

Single Word, Doodle, Photo, Haiku, Screenplay, Song Lyric POST people, places, tastes, sounds, sights, smells that "Slap Ya" into embracing who YOU are. The YOU you bury beneath the To-Do lists and responsibilities. The YOU who smiles, cringes, dreams, blames, forgives, denies, rejoices and hopes. Ageless, complicated, clandestine, indefinable YOU - hidden but not forgotten. Recipe4SuccessInc@blogspot.com

A Tale of Two Reunions

Before I post it, inviting you all to submit stories of people, places, tastes, sounds, sights, smells or any sensory experiences that remind you of who you are. YOU at your core. The YOU that gets buried beneath all that you are for others(intentionally or not). The YOU that makes you smile, cringe, dream, blame, forgive, deny, rejoice and hope. The ageless, complicated, secret, indefinable kernel of YOU - hidden but not forgotten.

Raise Your Hand 'A' Type Parents

How do I get my four-year-old into The Ivy League? 

Raise your hand if you ever, if only for a millisecond, believed you could manufacture the ‘Perfect A’ child?  Ok.  I’ll take the hit.  Guilty.  Banish me to ‘good-intentioned Mommy’ prison.  And don’t disregard the fact that, as a professional educator, I should have known better.  By default, ‘child experts’ are the worst offenders here.  We’ve hypothesized, theorized, researched and defended our way right into a resilient web of delusion.  On paper - a flawless plan of action.  Live and in color - not so much.

Here’s what professional and personal experience bears out.  Balanced and equipped university candidates are resilient AND imperfect.  

Notice I didn’t say, ‘smart’.

Academic excellence is merely one gauge of success; and a lesser indicator at best.  Look around you.  Our society values talent.  We exalt ambition.  We herald risk-taking.  If we possessed the power to build a Perfect ‘A’ child, would we?  What’s the pay-off?  Quantitative scores are indicators of quantifiable proficiency.  

Are you prepping your child to be exam ‘ready’ or exam ‘dependent’?

Control the environment.  Not the child.

Our Dirty Little Secrets...

I’m closing in on hour 40 of my 48 hour “Staycation” – That’s more combined down-time then I’ve had in 6 months!

And is it just me or do the end-of-year performances, parties, commencements, tributes and “What-can we do now, Mom?”s send you into toxic meltdown?

After a Mani-Pedi and Santa Monica bike ride, I’m taking a deep breath and battening down the hatches for summer.   Hope you and Errol are enjoying some unstructured time.  I know, I know.  I uttered the nasty word that should not be spoken among A-Types.  “Unstructured”.  I stand behind it.  Down-time is the greenhouse of the imagination; it's the on-ramp to the Gifted highway.  Enough metaphors, it’s just GOOD STUFF.

So, I’ve attached some of my tips for summer enrichment featured on the blog www.mommyguru.com  For us A-Types, these activities have educational value and academic applications – but mostly, they’re cool, “old school”, and anti-rule.

Spa day, anyone?

Shellie

BTW - I'm working on a "Do It Yourself" - test prep ERB/ISEE orientation for parents only.  It would give you techniques on how to help your child prepare for the ISEE without hiring a prep company or tutor.  The key is - start early and coach your child using consistent test-taking strategies.  I'll let you know when we announce a date.

Bruin, Coach, Mother, Inspiration - Thanks, Coach Wooden

"Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow," - Coach Wooden

Cure Summer Blues with Summer Do’s

School’s out, they’re home and you’ve checked off the summer To-Do’s of camps, road trips and summer reading lists. One thing you haven’t planned on is how to sharpen their critical thinking and academic skills. Get a head start on the next school year with a few neuron building activities that will engage and inspire the entire family. Your mission – to give them open-ended and self-generated activities that draw on higher level imagining, problem solving, documenting and producing skills.



Theme Week

Pirates, Spies, Scientists, Artists, Explorers, Knights, Superheroes
Write each role on index cards and let your crew choose the week’s theme on Sundays. Monday’s activity can begin with a trip to the library or a search online for interesting background information. Tuesday – Arts and Crafts day, Wednesday Dress Up/Role Play (my personal favorite is “pirate speak”), Thursday - Fieldtrips (even to a local park or museum), Friday - compile scrapbooks, compose letters or create puppet shows. Saturday - Movie Night served up with a theme inspired family meal.

When is a lemonade stand not a lemonade stand?


…When it’s a math skill builder in disguise!
Measure, calculate, estimate, fraction, volume, yield, proportion. Even designing the stand logo requires an application of marketing and targeting strategies. Watch a few commercials together. Question. “How did they get your attention?” “How can you attract customers?”

Media Blitz

A little TV and Video Games won’t hurt – Think critically. If you watch the tube with your kids sneak in a question mid-show, have them predict the outcomes to episodes. Rent some old cliff hangers from your youth and ask the kids to come up with alternate endings. My 7 and 8 year olds are addicted to classic old-time radio dramas and comedies that can be downloaded for free. Historical context comes into play here, particularly when they ask about WWII references. I also had to explain why we couldn’t send in Ovaltine proof of purchases for the latest Superman pins. Their obsession inspired them to invent dramatic cliff-hangers and record their version of radio commercials.

So what’s it gonna cost me?

Not much. Markers, paints, felt, glue – you probably already have these. Invest in unlined, “jumbo-sized” Post-it paper. Remember that summer is about bending the rules. Don’t limit your kids to writing on the lines college rule style– let them post interesting ideas, observations, vocabulary or doodles on giant posters that can remain on their bedroom walls. Give them an old box to paint and design then create a diorama representing your weekend road trip.